Sino Agro Food, Inc. (OTCQX: SIAF | OSE: SIAF-ME), a United States corporation, is an agriculture technology and natural food holding company with principal operations in the People’s Republic of China. Together with Chinese co-investors, the Company acquires and maintains equity stakes in a cohesive portfolio of companies that SIAF forms according to its core mission to produce, distribute, market and sell natural, sustainable protein food – primarily seafood and cattle – and high value produce to the rapidly growing middle class in China. Subsidiaries develop and distribute these high margin, high quality products as needed to meet the rising demand for fresh food of consistent quality and assured safety.

SIAF provides project development, financial oversight and strategic direction for each company, and for the interoperation between companies. The Company owns or licenses patents, proprietary methods, and other intellectual properties in its areas of expertise. Project development includes construction, consulting and services to joint venture partners to build, expand, and operate food businesses, primarily producing wholesale protein foods. Further joint ventures market and distribute the wholesale products as part of an overall “farm to plate” concept and business strategy.

The Company's largest and most scalable businesses are its indoor seafood production farms and its cattle farms.

In aquaculture, the Company uses its proprietary high yielding A Power Recirculating Aquaculture System ("APRAS"). APRAS technology features:

configurable indoor tanks using pure water that recirculates 60 to 120 times per hour

fresh or salt water tanks as required by species

controlled feed and growth environments

no use of hormones, antibiotics, or other drugs or chemicals

Seafood is grown to commercial sizes and sold to established wholesalers and distributors. Prawn fries and fingerlings are sold to local prawn farmers.

At our cattle farms, live cattle is grazed on specified grasses grown with our proprietary fertilizers and methods; the cattle are raised and fattened using proprietary livestock feed (concentrated and bulk); then slaughtered at our abattoir, deboned and packaged, and sold through Company owned butcher shop concessions at retail stores in China. Our meat and meat products are also sold to other well known third party wholesalers and distributors in China. To meet demand for quality beef, the Company also imports premium Angus beef from Australia.

The Government of China has recognized the Company for its Corporate Social Responsibility efforts. Specifically in Qinghai Province, our SJAP subsidiary was awarded prestigious Dragon Head Enterprise status in October 2013. The SJAP model promotes significantly improved income for the local farmers, and allows the company to effectively market to government officials and investors from surrounding districts to build additional farms.

Business Model

As a specialized investment company focused on protein food including seafood and cattle, Sino Agro Food, Inc. has announced its carve-out spin-off (“COSO”) strategy to unlock values of its operating companies. Click here to learn about the Company’s COSO strategy.

Since 2007, the Company has entered into several joint venture agreements in China, following Chinese law. A typical Sino-Foreign Joint Venture (SFJV) agreement contains an option clause for further investment. Initially, the China Developer of project companies invites us to invest in their venture. If management feels compelled it carries out an in-depth study of the target company including legal due diligence, business plan, budget and projected financial information. The final decision is made through a resolution by the Company’s Board of Directors. If the decision is made to proceed with an investment, there is first formed an SFJV, within which in turn the Company acquires further equity interest. The acquisition price of such interest is determined in accordance to the book value of the SFJV as of the acquisition date. Consideration generally consists in part of cash and in part of contract against trade debts owed by the China Developer due to consulting and services fees charged to the China Developer by the Company in accordance with their Consulting & Services agreement. Project companies’ record development cost as construction in progress and treat the amount due to us as partial investment in new SFJV. The Company’s expenditures as the consulting and service provider providing turnkey services to the China Developer for the development of the project include (i) administrative and operational expenses provided for and incurred in the project (charged and recorded under general and administrative operation expenses), billable to the China Developer, (ii) other development expenditures (inclusive of subcontractors’ and sub-suppliers’ cost plus mark-up) billable to the Developer, as well. Consulting & Services fees are exclusively billed to the third party China Developer, and not to the future SFJV companies.

Operations in China

The map at the top of this page indicates the locations of our business entities in China. Click on it to view a larger version. Company operations and facilities are located in the provinces of Guangdong, Qinghai, and Hunan, and the cities of Shanghai and Beijing.

Sino Agro Food actively demonstrates its commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) across and throughout all of its business entities. The government of Qinghai province recognized the Company's CSR contributions and efforts by awarding our SJAP operations the prestigious merit credentials of "Dragon Head Enterprise" status in October of 2013.

A holding company, SIAF's Group Corporate Structure is organized as follows:

These are the companies that form the cohesive portfolio of equity stakes referred to above. These companies are joint ventures managed at an operations level by joint venture partners. SIAF intends to IPO subsidiaries when they reach viability for the public markets. More information about each project company is available from our Subsidiaries and Joint Ventures page.

History

After successfully developing many aquaculture fishery farms and cattle farms and related businesses (including sales and marketing of produce and products) in Australia and Malaysia since 1998, SIAF's management team introduced our business activities in China in 2006. We are an engineering consulting company that specializes in building and operating agriculture, beef cattle, and aquaculture farms.

To accomplish this, we utilize our expertise and know how in specific agriculture and aquaculture technologies. Our A Power Recirculating Aquaculture System ("APRAS") is a patented and proven technology for indoor fish farming. We’ve developed modern techniques and technologies to grow, feed and house both fish and cattle. These are engineered into the designs of, and the management systems for, indoor and outdoor fishery and cattle farms. Our experience managing crops, and employing technologies (including hydroponic) to work within climate and growing conditions optimizes the production of organic, green and natural agricultural produce.

In all of these developments we have acted as the master engineer, pioneering the construction and building of farms, from raw land into fully operational facilities. We complete the construction and building of infrastructure including staff quarters, offices, processing facilities, storage, and all related production facilities. Our management teams are responsible for developing all business activities into effective and efficient operations.

In just a few years, SIAF has matured into a technologically advanced company dedicated to the agriculture, livestock, and aquaculture industries in China. We currently operate our HU Plantation as well as our services in engineering consulting, specializing in the development of two major protein food products; namely, meat derived from the rearing of beef cattle and seafood derived from the growth of fish, prawns, eel and other marine species.